by Ron on October 7, 2009
Hartman Rocks Mountain Biking Trails, Gunnison, Colorado.
Typically on the blog I’m posting photos captured the day before, but I must admit, with all the Fall color photos I have been posting lately, I have fallen a bit behind. Most of the autumn photos were captured over just two days, but it has taken a few more to share them. We have actually been in Moab, Utah since this past weekend, and beginning tomorrow, I will begin posting photos from this area.
A week ago, I alluded to the mountain biking at Hartman Rocks Recreation Area, but never had a chance to follow up. We have been fortunate enough to ride some great trails, like the Slickrock trail here in Moab, or our favorite, the McDowell Mountain Regional Park trails near Phoenix, but we now have a new favorite – these trails, well, rock! They were so much fun! Especially Rocky Ridge and Becks – they were really smooth single track trails, with lots of rises, dips and banked turns that allow you to go as fast as you can peddle. I felt like I was 12 again – well, that isn’t all that unusual. If you find yourself in the Gunnison area, check them out.
by Ron on October 6, 2009
Ouray, Colorado
There are a lot of wonderful, historic, Western towns that have been beautifully restored, but none have the mountain setting that Ouray does! The top photo is looking North, the bottom one, South.
Ouray, Colorado
by Ron on October 5, 2009
A waterfall near Ouray, Colorado.
I had to wade out and stand in this creek to get this perspective – it was cold!
by Ron on October 2, 2009
Dallas Divide, Colorado.
Here is a little tip that I often forget; digital cameras capture some amazingly rich colors in dark light. This photo for example was taken at least 15 minutes before sunrise – it was a 20 second exposure at f/11. The images I captured of this scene with the first warm light of day hitting the hillside are nice and colorful, but look very different, and not nearly as rich as this image captured in very dark conditions. By the way, I didn’t add any saturation with Photoshop.
The Fall images I have been posting this week were all captured by driving down relatively quite little dirt roads, some after a bit of walking around. This is where I prefer spending time and photographing. This photo on the other hand was actually captured from a large, popular pullout along a busy highway. I said all along I wasn’t going to stop here, but it is just to nice to pass up, so yesterday morning I joined the crowds at this spot.
The other photographers gathered around here waited another 15 minutes before firing up their cameras, and probably thought I was a bit off shooting away in the dark like I was. Well, I am a bit off, but this time it might have paid off.
by Ron on October 1, 2009
San Juan Mountains, Colorado.
Well we received a lot of rain last night, which meant snow for the mountains. What a treat – they sure look better with fresh snow!
Unfortunately, we also were hit by some very hard winds today. Not only were the leaves being blown off the trees, we saw entire trees knocked down onto the highway. We even saw a stop sign blown over. Needless to say, thanks to the high winds, the window of opportunity for fall colors may have been even smaller then I anticipated.
San Juan Mountains, Colorado.
by Ron on September 30, 2009
Sneffels Range, San Juan Mountains, Colorado.
Now we are talking! I think we have found the amazing colors Colorado is known for.
Yesterday we moved to Ouray, Colorado – what a beautiful town! I’m sure I will be posting photos of it eventually. But, the trees around here are far healthier, looking great, and at or near peak. The next few days should be a whirlwind – stormy weather is in the forecast, we need to cover as much ground as possible as this might be a wonderful, but small window of opportunity.
by Ron on September 29, 2009
Hartman Rocks, Gunnison, Colorado
We found this spot while out mountain biking earlier yesterday, and had to come back for sunset. By the way, this area has some of the best mountain biking anywhere, but maybe more on that tomorrow.
by Ron on September 28, 2009
- Janine riding the Upper Loop, Crested Butte, Colorado.
The Upper and Lower Loops in Crested Butte are great trails. They run parallel a nice little stream, and wind through some great stands of pine and aspen as they climb up the valley. It was a great place to ride and photograph! At 9,000 feet, I’m glad we are acclimatized to the elevation – no wonder everyone looks so fit around here!
by Ron on September 27, 2009
A small patch of color along Highway 92, Colorado.
Finding nice patches of color has been a bit difficult, I think most photographers are hoping it improves next week. This was the best patch of color I have seen in awhile.
by Ron on September 26, 2009
Cameraman Buddy Squires, producer Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns in Aialik Bay, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.
I thought I would do a quick reminder that the Ken Burns series on our National Parks will begin airing Sunday evening on PBS.
As you may know, I helped out a bit when Florentine Films was filming in Kenai Fjords back in 2003 – they have been working on this film for sometime. Ken, Dayton and Buddy were some of the most interesting people I have ever met, and could tell fascinating stories about the people they have met and places they had seen thanks to their past projects. What doesn’t come across in the television interviews I have seen is Ken’s wonderful sense of humor – the group of us sure had a lot of fun, I don’t think I have ever laughed so much while out in the field!
I had the chance to see much of the Alaska portion of the coverage of this series and it was really well done. I can’t imagine the research that must go into a project like this. The series talked at length about people like Adolph Murie, Bradford and Barbara Washburn, Charles Sheldon and Joe Quigley – all people that are well known to Alaskans, but may be unfamiliar to most Americans. I look forward to learning about similar people from other parts of the United States who may be unfamiliar to me.
I don’t think I’ll have a chance to watch it right now – we don’t get much in the way of TV right now, and we are kinda busy, but I do look forward to watching it once we are back in Alaska. Here is the PBS site with much more information including times for The National Parks, Americas Best Idea.
Ken Burns pretending to be deeply engrossed by a beach stone as he hams it up for my camera. He was hilarious. At the time I was sorry my flash didn't fire, but in hindsight, I like the silhouette.
by Ron on September 25, 2009
Crested Butte, Colorado.
Crested Butte is a really cool little ski town! The old buildings in the main part of town have been carefully restored and colorfully painted – it is like this on both sides of the street for a number of blocks. This town has a ton of character, and the surrounding area offers endless outdoor activities. [click to continue…]
by Ron on September 24, 2009
Janine at a viewpoint in Black Canyon Gunnison National Park, Colorado.
Last week we were in one of the busiest National Parks, Rocky Mountain National Park. Last night we visited one most people probably never have heard of, Black Canyon of Gunnison Natonal Park, but we weren’t at all disappointed, it is a beautiful Park! It consists primarily of Black Canyon. Black Canyon is very dramatic, at places over 2,700 feet deep, with solid rock walls full of interesting shapes, patterns and textures – a photographers dream! We plan on returning and spending a bit more time at this little gem.
Painted Wall, Black Canyon Gunnison National Park, Colorado.
For the image of Painted Wall, I used a 3 stop graduated neutral density filter, and a blend of two different exposures.
By the way, thanks for all the great location suggestions and advice I have received from readers of my last few posts – I really appreciate it!
by Ron on September 23, 2009
Red Aspen during a snow storm, Monarch Pass, Colorado.
I love finding the occasional patch of red aspen – they really stand out in the sea of yellow.
When we passed through Monarch Pass a couple of days ago the colors were amazing. We went back yesterday to find most of them had past, I’m sure thanks to the stormy weather. Lots of areas around here are still green, and the stormy weather didn’t hurt those trees, so I think there will be lots of fall to come!
by Ron on September 22, 2009
Looking up towards Engineer Pass, Colorado.
We have moved down to Gunnison Colorado and are now trying to figure our way around this new area. I think we are a tad early for the fall colors, which is good as it gives up more time to scout around this beautiful region. Yesterday we explored down a couple of long dirt roads towards Engineer Pass and then Cinnamon Pass, both were a couple of great looking areas above the cool little town of Lake City, Colorado. We look forward to returning as the colors progress.
by Ron on September 21, 2009
Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
As you can see, the fall colors in the high elevations are beginning to change nicely – this was from Saturday morning. The lower elevations still have a lot of green – if I had to predict, I think this upcoming week will be a lot better with next weekend possibly being the best. Monday’s predicted cold front could add some nice snow on the mountains and could speed the change up a bit. I’m getting excited for the fall colors!
by Ron on September 19, 2009
Sky Pond, with Lake of Glass in the distance, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Our original plan was to spend the night in this beautiful setting, but Park rules don’t allow back-country camping in this area. There is a single back-country campsite about two miles from here, but it had been booked long ago. So, we hiked up, waited for a sunset that never developed, and then hiked out with the last three miles by headlamp in the dark. Although we couldn’t spend the night, it was still a great trip!
By the way, the waterfall in yesterday’s post, Timberline Falls, is just below the distant lake, Lake of Glass.
I have come the conclusion that hiking in the dark is not that much fun – you miss out on the scenery as you stare at the dirt and rocks in your light-beam five feet in front of you for boring mile after mile – I begin to feel like I’m driving. And, even through it seems like you are going fast, we have found we are a bit slower in the dark. But, had there been a great sunset, it would have been so worth it. Actually, it was worth it anyways.
Sharktooths rising above Sky Pond, RMNP, Colorado.
To this far side of the lake was about a five mile steady climbing hike to almost 11,000 feet. Just as I was feeling pretty good about how quickly we made it to this high country destination, I noticed 4 people repelling off one of the Sharthtooths! Gheeze, our hike was probably barely a warm up for them.
The top photo was .8 of a second at f/14 and ISO 100 and a polarizer and two stop graduated neutral density filter. The bottom image was a blend of two photos, one for the sky, one for the rest.
by Ron on September 18, 2009
Timberline Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
This cool waterfall is on the hike to Sky Pond – more on the hike tommorow.
by Ron on September 17, 2009
Bull Elk, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
The are lots of elk here! In my opinion, this a a better place for photographing elk then even Yellowstone or Jasper. And the rutting behavior is sure fascinating to watch. Large bulls round up a groups of cows, only to be repeatedly challenged by other bulls, sometimes losing their cows, other times not. The process is repeated all day long, played to the amazing bugle sounds ringing out from each of these magnificent animals.
This guy almost crossed right here where he is looking – it would have been an amazing setting with the stream and mountains in the background! Instead, he walked right towards me and crossed so close I couldn’t include him in the frame with my 100-400 at 100! Who would have thought I would have needed my wide-angle lens for these guys.
by Ron on September 16, 2009
Estes Park, Colorado.
Many of my favorite towns are the gateway communities into National Parks – heck I live in one. Estes Park, Colorado is no exception, in fact, I think it might be the nicest community we have ever visited! [click to continue…]
by Ron on September 15, 2009
Dream Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
This was the result of a early morning hike in the dark -I think it was definitely worth it!
Janine was given a bit of a bad time for not being up for our first morning here in Colorado at Mount Evans – all in fun of course. To be fair, my super model has been there every morning and evening since, I thought I should add some photo proof!
Janine at Dream Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
I used a two stop hard edge graduated neutral density filter for both images. The top image was captured at ISO 100 and f/11 for .5 second. The bottom one was ISO 100, f/16 for .8 second. I stopped down a bit more for the lower image since my subject was much closer – I needed more depth of field.
by Ron on September 14, 2009
Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
This was at sunrise yesterday (Sunday) – what a beautiful little lake!
by Ron on September 12, 2009
Bull Elk at sunset, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
We finally made it into Rocky Mountain National Park last night – this place is great! We arrived just in time to enjoy this wonderful sunset. I had no idea there is so much elk activity here – this is as good as Jasper/Banff or Yellowstone, two areas I love. My time spent with elk in those National Parks really helped me anticipate this guys movement so that I could be in the right spot in case there was a sunset – it sure all came together! I also have some sunset photos with the whole harem of elk.
It is going to be nice to be in one place for a week or so. We have only driven the first few miles of the Park road – I’m really looking forward to driving and hiking more of the park.
This was captured with my 24-105 at 58mm along with a 3 stop hard edged graduated neutral density filter.
by Ron on September 11, 2009
Summit Lake, Mount Evans, Colorado.
This lake sits at 12,830 feet – and there is a road to it! In fact, the road continues to the top of Mount Evans in the distance at 14,264 making it the highest paved road in North America. Unfortunately it is closed beyond Summit Lake after the Labor Day weekend.
When I was hiking around, the elevation really wasn’t noticeable – but at one point I realized my battery was going to die, so I ran back to the truck for another one, and wow – that air is thin!
My super model slept in this morning, so you get stuck with a rare photo of me today!
by Ron on September 10, 2009
Pika, Mount Evans, Colorado.
Finally able to spend some time outdoors after a long week of travel, and it felt good! The colors in the high country are beginning to turn, I think our timing is good – I’m very excited about the upcoming weeks. Colorado is a beautiful state!
Stormy weather made it hard to find mountain goats on Mt Evens, so I spent some time photographing these cute little guys! I have seen them on numerous occasions in Denali, but not at the concentrations as I saw on Mt Evans.
by Ron on September 3, 2009
Sunrise on Mt. Marathon last month, Seward, Alaska. If you look close, you can see the Seward Highway way down in the valley as it comes into town.
I gotta admit, it is really hard to leave Alaska this time of year. Sure, it is the wettest time of year, but a beautiful Fall day in Seward can be really amazing. In fact, last year we ended up delaying our fall trip because we couldn’t pull ourselves away from here. But, I have always wanted to visit and photograph Colorado, and September is a wonderful month in the Rockies. If we waited until after the fall colors in Alaska, we would miss them in Colorado.
So tomorrow we pack, Saturday drive to Anchorage, Sunday fly to Southern California where we spend a couple of days getting our trailer ready, then make the three day drive to Estes Park. I say all that so that I have a built in excuse in case I’m unable to post to the blog next week. Once we are down there and situated, I will resume my regular posts, hopefully with photos of a new region (for me) and exciting adventures! Well, hopefully not too exciting.
What we typically do on these long trips is find a campground with wifi – this way we can set up our mobile office so that we can maintain the office while I photograph the surrounding area.
Our plan right now is to stay for two weeks in Estes Park and photograph Rocky Mountain National Park. Then, down to Gunnison for two or three weeks of chasing the fall colors in the mountains. Once the colors fade, we are going back to Moab – a place we really enjoyed last fall. This year we were able to snag back country reservations for a couple of nights along the White Rim Trail – that should be fun. Those are hard to get, we had to apply months ago.
After that, our trip is less planned. As we head West we will spend a few nights in the Vegas area before hitting the Southern California desert for a week or two. When we return to Alaska in mid November, fall will be long over.
So that is the plan for now – sometimes we follow the plan almost exactly, other times we completely change our minds depending on what we find on the road. So stay tuned to the photo blog for future posts!
